Brits become savvier when shopping online with voucher usage increasing by a third in the last two years

Two thirds of Britons are now saving with voucher codes online

Almost £10 is saved on average per retail purchase by voucher code users

Online shoppers in the UK are becoming savvier, with voucher code usage increasing by a third since 2014, plus a rise of almost 15% in 2015. With an average basket value of £62.60 for retail sales, and an average discount value at around 15%, online shoppers are saving almost £10 per transaction when using a voucher code.

Findings published by Voucherbox.co.uk in the third consecutive year of their annual voucher usage survey show that there has been a steady increase in those using voucher codes online in the UK, rising from 48% in 2014, to 57% in 2015. The latest 2016 research shows that 64% of Brits now use codes when shopping online.

Women are savvier than their male counterparts, with 94% of them knowing what voucher codes are, compared with 90% of men who understand what voucher codes are.

UK-wide data highlights Wales as the place seeing the biggest increase in discount code usage, with a 20% increase, although it is England which has the savviest shoppers overall, with 67% of people in England now using voucher codes.

In contrast, almost six out of ten people in Northern Ireland say they never look for voucher codes when shopping online, plus there has been a 9% decrease in usage there compared with the previous year.

Older people appear to be getting more into the savvy spirit with an increase of more than 20% in discount code usage for the over 65s, increasing from 52% in 2015 to 63% in the same period in 2016.

It has also emerged that the younger generation are missing out on savings compared to last year with around a 20% decrease of 18-24 year olds using discounts. In addition, 12% of 18-24 year olds surveyed do not know what a voucher code is, the highest of any age group in 2016, perhaps highlighting that experience matters when it comes to shopping online.

Figures from Google trends support Voucherbox’s overall findings on the increased usage of online discounts with popular searched for terms such as “Domino’s promo code” increasing by around 140% in the last three years and “Debenhams promo code” by almost 85%.

UK Country Manager Shane Forster commented, “It is great to see this constant rise over the last two years in shoppers searching for and using discounts online, although it is also clear there is still room for consumer expertise to increase when it comes to identifying real savings, especially amongst the younger generation. At the same time, in store and on the high street, some supermarkets have recently been under fire for multi buy and BOGOF deals which can actually lead to wastage and overspending, caused by confusing offers. However, this latest online data shows that British shoppers are savvier than ever when it comes to e-commerce discounts.”